Red-Haired Ash Reads

Recently divorced Dahlia Woodson is ready to find herself again and hopes being on the popular reality competition show Chef’s Special will be a good start. What she doesn’t expect is to find herself attracted to a fellow contestant, London Parker. 

This was a cute romance. Dahlia is struggling to find herself and determine what she wants to do with her life. I enjoyed Dahlia and her determination to embrace life. She really did everything she could to enjoy her time in California and determine what she does and doesn’t like. I loved her joy at small things, especially when they were with London. Their relationship was adorable and I loved seeing them being tourists and having fun. 

London is the first openly nonbionary contestant on the show. They were insecure about their coming out but Dahlia and most of the contestants were supportive, but not all. I enjoyed their internal monologue. It was very cute watching them go from grump to outgoing, especially with Dahlia. Their anxiety and sadness over their family members misgendering was heartbreaking and I liked how they finally dealt with it. 

Overall, this was a great LGBTQ romance. I enjoyed these two a lot. My only issue was with the lack of communication but it did help them both realize how much they felt about each other and wanted a life together. I look forward to reading more of Anita Kelly’s books. 

Trigger warnings: misgendering by a contestants and by a family member 

*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*

---

Goodreads | Amazon

---